What are the advantages of PVC versus polyolefins for the pipes?
The PVC has 5 major technical advantages in pipe application versus polyolefins: • Higher stiffness of the material (related to the E-modulus of 3000 MPa compared to 800 to 1400 MPa for polyolefins) which allows limited thickness of the pipe. • Durability: as explained in other chapters, PVC pipes are not sensitive to oxidation during service. The PVC pipes are being used with high satisfaction since more than 60 years and the expected lifetime is higher than 100 years. • Fire properties: PVC is among plastics one of the most difficult to ignite and the contribution to fire is one of the lowest. • Easier connections : PVC pipes are easy to saw and to drill with standard tools and PVC can also be glued (which is not the case for polyolefin material). • The environment balance is very good for 2 main reasons: the low energy content as calculated from the life cycle analysis ; and the excellent ability to recycling of this material which allows to extrude many times the recovered material
